Counter and toe stiffener for boots and shoes.



W. B. WHITE.

COUNTER AND TOE STIFFBNER FOR BOOTS AND SHOES.

APPLIOATION FILED FEB. 24, 1914.

Patented June 30, 1914,

3 SHBETB-SHEET 1.

61 65a ,RWQQLK Zak 52265368.

% uag coumuu PLANnuR/mn couwAsmNmoN, n. c

W. B. WHITE. COUNTER AND TOE S'IIFPENER FOR BOOTS AND SHOES.

APPLIOA'IION FILED FEB. 24, 1914. 1,102, 1 1 3.

Patented June 30, 1914,

asimms-snnm z.

Zfla'znassesx 272 06736 07? @CM W W (3 m 0Q 0772 ey.

COLUMBIA PLAN flRAPH 80-, WASHINGTON. D. i.

W. B. WHITE. COUNTER AND TOE STIFFENER FOR BOOTS AND SHOES.

' APPLICATION IILBD 11113.24, 1914. 1,1 02, 1 1 3. Patented June 30, 191 1 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

wc zfnessss J5zve2zf0 @cm FM WW (5. win MAJ $.44. 5y amfli Q JQK COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPN CD', WAfMINOTVN. D. S.

TED STATES E tEENT onrron WARREN B. WHITE, OF NORTH ABINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

COUNTERANI) TOESTIFFENER FOR BOOTS AND SHOES.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, VVARREN B. VI-UTE, a citizen of the United States, residing at North Abington, in the county of Plymouth, State of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Counter and Toe Stifi'eners for Boots and Shoes, of which thetollowing is a specification, reference being bad therein to the accompanying drawings.

Counter and toe stitfeners such as are employed in the manufacture of boots and shoes usually are made with the flanges and bodies thereof integral with each other. As

thus made, the blank for a sti'tl'ener requires to have a width equal to the combined width of the upright or body-portion of the stittener and the horizontal portion or flange. In other words, the blank requires to consist of a comparatively wide piece 01. material, the cost of which is in proportion to thewidth, which renders quite large the cost of stitl'eners of the better classes made of good and high-priced material. A blank such as aforesaid is taken, and by a mold ing operation the flange-portion thereof is bent at the required angle to the body-portion, the required general shapebeing given to the stiffener at the same time. In the said operation the inturjned flange of the stiitl'ener is produced by turning or bending the lower integral portion of the blank inwardly, and pressing or ironing the same to give the required set theretoto cause it to stand at or nearly at right angles to the upright body-portion. The angle between the upright body-portion and the flange is defined by the bend in the entire thickness of the material of the blank. or excess of material in the flange resulting from giving the sti'tlener the customary horse-shoe shape is formed into crimps, which are flattened down in the pressing or ironing operation. The heel-seat constituted by the inturned flange of a counter-stiffener, for instance, should be flat, and a sharplydetined angular bend with flat base line are highly desirable. These features are diflicult to produce in the case of a one-piece stiffenershaped wholly by molding, and inasmuch as the leather or other material of which stifl'eners are made, when bent to form an angle, shows a tendency to flatten down or straighten out again so as to lose the required angle, especially in case of Specification of Letters Patent.

The fullness Patented June 30, 1914..

Application filed February 24:, 1914. Serial No. 820,746.

being moistened, a well-defined angular bend and the requisite flatness of the crimped heel-seat do not always remain. If a molded still'ener becomes damp or jammed the corner or bend loses its welldelined sharpness or augularity and be comes rounded, and the flange tends to straighten out into line with the upright portion. Consequently, neither a good heelseat, a well-defined angular bend and distinct base-line, nor a satisfactory outer side, remains. l/Vhen the flange departs from the desired degree of angular relationship to the upright body-portion, the flange will not fit well against the hecl-seat of a last. Hence, in the lasting process it 'l'requently becomes necessary to flatten the heel seat of a countor-stiffener by pounding, and also to square up the outer side of the sti'll'ener by. beating with an iron. In some cases,

stiil't'eners molded as aforesaid are wet or moistened for the purpose of putting them in temper, to thereby facilitate. working the flange of a stitl'ener into place upon a last. When thus wet or moistened, the still'ener partially loses the shape which was given to it in the molding operation, so that the shoulder or bend produced by molding disappears .more or less completely, and the laster then has to depend largely upon his eye in bending or breaking the flange around the edge of the last and into place for the heel-seat of a shoe. In so doing, it is diflicult for him to bend or break the stifl'ener with such accuracy that in the linished shoes the upper edge ol. the still'ener shall stand at exactly the right height, and hence it results :t'requently that the top edge of a, stitl'ener stands too high or too low in the l'inished shoe. A departure of even so small an amount asone-eighth of an inch from the correct position injures a shoe.

()ne general object of the invention is to provide for securing a perfectly defined baseline for a stiffener, and a clearly-dcfined external corner at such base-line, and also to provide for a perfect flange or heelseat extending inward at the proper angle from the body-portion. These are things that cannot be attained, or at any rate are ditlicult to attain, when the flange or heelseatis integral. with the body-portion and produced simply by imparting a bend or set to the lower portion of a blank. By attaining this and the related objects of the invention I provide, for instance in the case of a counter-stifiener, for a snug fit of the flange of such stiffener against the heel-seat of a last, and also for the desired appearance of the shoe around the lower part of the counter next the sole. The laster is enabled to keep the heel-seat of the stiflener close to the last, pounding is rendered more or. less com.- pletely unnecessary, and time is saved.

A second general object of the invention is to produce a stiffener. which will stand being Wetted oranoistened without losing the. angle of the heel-seat or the square corner, and thereby obviate bending of the stiffener by the laster to .form a flange.

, A third generahobject of the invention is to provide for a more advantageous use of material; also to provide for enabling stiffeners to be made of smaller pieces of mate-.

rial, and for, enabling the flanges to be made of lessezrpensive material than that of which the bodiesare, formed-i ,A fourth object of theinvention is to obviate the skiving. of the lower portion of a stiffenerheretofore. necessary to facilitate the bendingof such portiOn to form a flange or heel-seat, and by dispensing with such skiving enable the full original substance and thickness of the .body to. the lower edge of the latter. to be retained.

A. fifth objectof the invention is to insureuniformity of height from the heel-seat up, of the counterstiflfeners in the different shoes. of a lot.

HA sixth object ofthe inventionis to. facilitate the operation of uniting the bodyportionand flange-portion, when composed of separate pieces, and thereby expediting theprocess of manufacture and reducing the cost.

Briefly stated, .the. invention consists in a stiffener for usein the manufacture, ofv boots and shoes in which the body and the flange respectively consist of separate pieces of material secured togetherby fastening means, the cut edge of one of such pieces} adapted to define the base-line of the stiffener and to give an angular corner at such;

base-line.

. It consists, further, in a stiffener for use in the manufacture of boots and shoes comprising abody-portion and a flange-portion se cured together,-flat face of one to flat face of the other, with one of said portions adapted to be bent to thereby cause the flange to occupy a position substantially at right angles tov the upright portion, and with the cut edge of one thereof adapted to define the angle at the base of the stifl'ener'and also define the heel-seat. i i 1 Any suitable. means of fastening the different portions of thestiifener together consistent with the aims of the invent-ion may the more specific features of the invention I employ stitches in some instances. In others, I employ wire fastenings, In still others I employ cement.

The invention is applicable equally in the case of counter-stiffeners and of toe-stifieners, although for convenience I have referred more particularly herein to counter-stiffen- ,ers, and have shown the features of invention embodied in counter-stiffeners. The embodiment of the said features in toestifleners will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

In the drawings,-Figure 1 is a view of the outer side of a counter-stiffener contain ing one embodiment of the invention, said counter-stiflener being shown in flat unmolded state. F ig. 2 is a view of the inner side thereof. Fig. 3 is a view in vertical cross-section of a counter-stiffener containing thesaid embodiment, molded into shape for application to a shoe, and having the lower portion of its flange-piece bent into horizontal position to constitute a flange. Fig. 4 isa View similar toFig. 3 but showing both portions of the flange-piece bent to constitute a flange. Figs. 5 and'G are views similar to Figs. 1 and 2, showing a second embodiment of the invention. Fig. 7 is a view in vertical cross-section of the counterstiffenerof Figs. 5 and ('3, and F ig. 8 is a similar view thereof showing it, after the flange has-been bent into horizontal position. Figs. 9' and 10 are views similar to Figs. 1 and 2, showinga third embodiment of the invention. Fig. 11 is a view in vertical cross-section of the body-piece of the counter-stiffener of Figs. 9 and 10. Fig. 12 is. a similar view of the said counter-stiffener after th flange-piece has been united to the body-piece. Fig. 13 is a view in vertical cross-section of a counter-stiffener containing the said third embodiment of the invention, showing the flange bent into horizontal position.

Having reference to the drawings, and more particularly to Figs. 1 to 4,-the bodypiece 1 usually is composed of leather, although in some cases I use leather-board or like material. Its width corresponds with the height of the body-portion of the finished counter, its upper margin being skived as usual, while its lower portion presents a square-cut edge. The flange-piece 2 is composed of a suitable flexible material. This material may be canvas, or it may be thin leather stock. The flange-piece is applied to one surface of the body-piece and united thereto. Herein it is shown applied to the inner surface of the body-piece. The uniting means may vary in practice, but usually I employ a line of fastenings 3, as shown, located adjacent the lower edge of the bodypiece and preferably consisting of stitches.

The bodypiece and the flange-piece are placed together face to face, and the stitches the upper portion of the flange-piece rc-i mains in upright positlon in contact with the inner surface of the body-piece, to which surface it is caused to adhere by means of a suitable cement or adhesive, although this may be dispensed with, while the lowerportion is bent to form the instanding flange. As cemented tothe body-piece in 3, the

upper portion of the flange-piece 2 forms an effective reinforcement for the said bodypiece, taking the place of the separate reinforcement which sometimes it found necessary to apply in practice. When the flange-piece is caused to adhere to the bodypiece by cement or the like, the line of stitches or other fastenings may be omitted. However, the line of stitches has its advantages. For instance, in Fig. 3 it prevents the flange-piece from tearing away from the surface to which it is cemented. Where the flange is composed of a single thickness the total width of the flange-piece may be less than that indicated in Figs. 1 to 4. In Fig.

4 the upper and lower portions of the flangepiece are bent horizontally and. brought together so that they combine to form the flange. Inasmuch as the vertical width of the body-piece determines the height of the stiffener, this insures uniformity in the height of the different stiffeners of a lot when applied to the shoes in which they are incorporated.

In Figs. 1 to 4: the lower cut edge of the body-piece 1 defines the base-line of the body of the stiffener and gives a slmrply-defined angle. The full. original substance and thickness of the said body-piece is retained at the said edge. I may, however, reduce the said thickness more or less at the said edge in eases when such reduction is deemed advisabl or necessary.

Figs. 5 to 8 show an embodiment of the invention in which the angle and base-line at the bottom of the body of the stiffener are defined by the cut edge of the flangepiece. In this embodiment of the invci'ition the body-piece 1 has both the upper margin and the lower margin of the same skived or tapered in thickness. The flange-piece 2 F is applied to the outer surface of the lower margin of the bodypiece l. The upper margin of the flange-piece overlaps the lower margin of the body-piece "a short distance, the extent of the overlapping being sufficient to provide for the secure attachment of the two pieces to each other by the line of stitches or other fastenings 3. In shaping the stiffener for application to a shoe, a bend is produced in the lower margin of the bodypiece 1", closely adjacent the line of stitches or other fastenings 3, as shown by Fig. 8, so that the outer edge of the flange-piece in the lmrizontal position of the latter represented in Fig. 8 shall be flush, or approximately so, with the upstanding portion of the outer surface of the body of the stiffener. In this embodiment of the invention the fhinge-piecc may be composed of stock sufficiently thin not to require skiving to produce a satisfactory heel-seat, or if thicker and less flexible material is used for the flange-piece the latter may be skived.

Figs. 9 to show an embodiment of the invention in which the lower margin of the body-piece 1, instead of being skivcd as in Figs. 5 to 8, may be simply reduced in thickness, as by means of a knife or knives or a rotating cutter, producing a thin lip 1 and a longitudinal shoulder 1. In this case the flange-piece 2 is applied to the outer surface of the body-piece 1 substantially as in Figs.

5 to 8, and the line of stitches or other fastenings 3 passes through the upper margin of. the flange-piece 2" and the lip 1. In

shaping the stiffener for application to a shoe the flange is caused to occupy a horn zontal position projecting in 'ardly by bonding the lip 1 inward and up against the shoulder It as in l ig. 13. In the case of this embodiment also, theouter cut edge of the flange-piece defines the base-line of the body of the counter, and the angle at the base of the said body. The flange-piece of this embodiment may be composed of thin flexible unskivcd nmterial or stock, or may be skived as shown in Figs. 12 and 13 if preferred.

The operation of uniting a body-piece and a flangc-pieco laid together face to face, by means of stitches passing through and through from the top surface of the one to the bottom surface of theother, is very conveniently and rapidly performed with the aid of suitable stitching mechanism and guides, so that the cost of mamlfacturcis small. The body-piece may be composed of one or a. plurality of thicknesses, and in some cases the strip constituting the flangepiece may be confined between two body layers. width no greater than the height of the counter, I am enabled to effect an economy in the use of the comparatively high-priced material ordinarily used in the manufacture of counter-stiffencrs, through being able to employ a smaller piece of such material and lower priced material for the flange. In the case of the embodiment shown in Figs. 5 to 13, I employ as the flange-piece the strip that is skived off from the upper margin of the body-piece in preparing the latter.

My invention enables me to reduce the cost of manufacture by effecting a saving in the cost of material and in labor, and

through manufacturing the stiifeners at a more rapid rate of production.

vVhen the flangepiece is stitched to the inner face of the body-piece and turned down as in Figs. 1 to 5, the downwardly projecting margin of the body, below the attaching seam and the bend of the flangepiece, accommodates the bulk of the crimped portion of the upper of a shoe, and the backstay when the latter is employed in the shoe, permitting the lower edge of the body of the counter and the upperinclosing the same to fit more snugly against the outsole of the shoe.

My invention provides for the production of a stiffener having a stiff upright body adapted to be conveniently shaped and to retain the shape which has been given thereto, and a flexible flange which canreadily be worked into position in a shoe and secured in such position in the latter.

Stiffeners embodying my invention may: be fully shaped in readiness for being fitted to a last before being placed upon the mar hot, or may be sold in a flat state or in a more or less open and straight condition, slightly concaved transversely and slightly curved longitudinally in readiness for being giventheir final shape by the laster just. previous to applying them to a last.

I claim as my invention,

1. A stiffener for use inthe manufacture of boots and shoes comprising an upright body-portion of a vertical width correspond ing with the height of the stiffener, and having an edge defining the base-line of said body-portion and a separate flange-portion secured to the said upright body-portion and bent inward at the lower edge of the saidv body-portion to constitute a flange.

2. A stiffener for use in the manufacture of boots and shoes comprising an upright body-portion and a flangeportion, secured together flat face to fiat face, with one of said portions bent to cause the flange to occupy a position approximately at right angles to the upright portion, and with one portion provided with an edge defining the base-line of the stiffener and the angle at the base of the stiffener.

3. A stiffener for use in the manufacture of boots and shoes comprising a body-por- Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Iatents, 7

tion and a flange-portion, contacting fiat face to flat face and stitched together through and through, with the flange standing inward at an angle from the body-portion in the stiffener as ready for use and with an edge of one of said portions definingythe base-line of the stiffener and the angle at the base of the stiffener.

4:. i stiffener for usein the manufacture of boots and shoes comprising a body-portion and a fiange-portion united together flat face to flat face, one of said portions having an edge arranged to define the baseline and angle at the base of the stifiener when the stiffener is bent into shape for use. 5. A stiffener blank for use in the manufacture of boots and shoes comprising a body-piece and a distinct flange-piece secured together, fiat face of the one to flat face of the other, with one of said pieces arranged to be bent to thereby position the flange at an angle to the body, and with the edge of one thereof arranged to define the angle at the ,base of thcstiffencr and also define the heel-seat. H

6. A stifiener for use in the manufactur body-portion and a flange-portioncemented together fiat face to flat face, whereby said flange-portion constitutes a reinforcement for the body-portion, said body-portion having an edge which defines the base line of the stiffener and serves to give an angular corner at such base line.

, 7. A stiffener for use in themanufacture of boots and shoes comprising an upright body-portion and a flange-portion cemented together flat face to flat face, whereby said flange-portion constitutes a reinforcement for the body-portion, said body-portion having an edge which defines the base line of the stiffener and serves to give an angular corner at such base line, and a line of stitches extending lengthwise of said edge and further attaching said parts of the stiffener together. p

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

.W'ARREN B. WHITE. Witnesses Gnas. F. RANDALL, ELLEN 0. SPRING.

Washington, D. U.

of bootsand shoes comprising an upright. 

